1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a molded sportsball, and more particularly to a molded sportsball with hidden molding mark and manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Arts
With rapid development of the society, people spend more and more time at work and sometimes ignore the importance of their own health. In order to have a balance life between work and health, consistent and continuous exercise is necessary for people in modern societies. Among various forms of exercise, ball games are most popular because they are of wide diversities, easy to learn, and entertaining when a group of people play together.
While more and more people participate in ball games, their demands of the quality of sportsballs have been increasing. Sportsballs not only need to be more durable on the outer covering, but also need to possess aesthetic values with attractive appearance.
Generally speaking, a sportsball such as soccer ball or volleyball comprises two parts: an inflatable bladder and an outer covering. In conventional manufacturing process of sportsballs, such as soccer balls, the inner bladder can be made from either natural or synthetic rubber. The raw material is gently heated and forced into a mold, where it forms a balloon. As the material cools, it wrinkles so workers would remove the bladders and partially inflate them to smooth them out.
With respect to the outer covering, it is conventionally made by two identical hemispheric ball shells with smooth and continuous edges. Each hemispheric ball shell is made in a hemispheric mold with a smooth and continuous edge corresponding to that of the hemispheric ball shell. An air cavity is created when two hemispheric ball shells are put together in the mold and the inflatable bladder is placed therein. After the lamination process in which two identical hemisphere molds are engaged with each other edge-to-edge, the sportsball is formed.
The conventional sportsball manufacturing process suffers from its own limitation from aesthetic points of view. The outer covering of the sportsball is made by two hemispheric ball shells with smooth and continuous edges which form a common edge surrounding the center part of the ball. Accordingly, the common edge is an equator of the ball. The common edge, namely the molding mark is obvious on the surface of the sportsball so that the aesthetic value thereof is significantly harmed.